Brazil bans smoking in enclosed spaces

AP News

12/15/2011 5:59:00 PM - AP News

Brazil's president has signed a law that bans smoking in enclosed public places nationwide.

The U.S.-based anti-smoking group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids calls it a historic measure. The groups says Brazil, with its 190 million people, is now the largest nation to go completely smoke free for enclosed public and work spaces.

Smoking bans were already in place in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other big Brazilian cities.

The law signed Thursday by President Dilma Rousseff goes one step further. It outlaws designated smoking rooms in airports and bars that were allowed in cities with bans already in place.

The law also raises taxes on tobacco products, increasing costs for smokers by up to 55 percent within four years.